Belisle Cadillac Chevrolet reaches the end of the road

Paul Belisle, owner of Belisle Cadillac Chevrolet, announced earlier this month his decision to close the business, one of the oldest family-owned GM dealerships in Canada.Photo by

Jan. 10, 2013 marks the end of the line for one of Canada’s oldest family-owned General Motors dealerships, Belisle Cadillac Chevrolet.

The dealership’s owner, Paul Belisle, announced the decision to close the store earlier this month, following 86 years selling Cadillac, Chevrolet and, before the brand was eliminated by parent company General Motors, Oldsmobile vehicles.

Belisle was coy about his reasons for closing up shop when we spoke to him, saying only that he has decided to retire from the car business following an offer from a buyer interested in his property, located at 444 Montreal Rd.

The Belisle family’s modern history in the local automobile industry can be traced back to 1880, when Paul’s grandfather left Montreal to settle in Clarence Creek and opened a blacksmith shop. He turned that into a Chevrolet dealership in 1926.

“My grandfather was a man that was really ahead of his time,” says Paul Belisle. “Although he was far away from Ottawa in those days, he saw that the automobile would be something of the future, so he got rid of the horse-and-carriage stuff and started carrying cars.”

By 1956, the family consolidated the Clarence Creek store and another in Buckingham, and moved to Belisle Cadillac Chevrolet’s current Montreal Road location.

Belisle says it is very unlikely Ottawa will see another car dealership with his family’s name on it.

In the meantime, he says, the plan is to continue servicing his customers’ vehicles until the end, sell off the rest of his inventory, and leave his customers in what he calls the “good hands” of the nine other General Motors dealers in the Ottawa area.

Depending on local demand for the brands, it’s possible that Belisle’s Cadillac and Chevrolet franchises could be taken over by other local GM dealers, according to Adria MacKenzie, corporate communications manager at General Motors of Canada.

“We will have a look at the market area and make decisions to ensure our Cadillac and Chevrolet customers in Ottawa will continue to be well-served,” she explained, adding that the company hasn’t yet decided what it will do with the Belisle franchises.

“I think Paul made the decision because he had no one to take over his business. He had a great offer from a buyer for the piece of land, and he decided to take the money,” says Parent. “You know what, I would have done the same, I’m sure. I don’t think it had anything to do with the performance of the dealership.”

Plenty of choice remains for General Motors buyers in Ottawa’s east end: Surgenor Buick GMC is located minutes away on St. Laurent Boulevard, and it’s a short jaunt east on the Queensway to get to Myers Orleans Chevrolet Buick GMC on St. Joseph Boulevard.

Parent suggests Belisle’s closure means more than one less place to buy a new car.

“Paul (Belisle) and his family were heavily involved in the community, and that will be something that the community will miss, obviously, after all these years. They are really involved with the Montfort Hospital and Cité Collegiale, and actively involved in the French community in the east end of Ottawa; they were the last bilingual GM dealership in the east end. It’s with regret that we’re going to see them go.”

Parent says Belisle’s business has a special place in his heart: his father worked for Belisle as a mechanic before leaving to open Bel-Air Toyota.

Belisle’s dedication to the community that supported his business could be seen at the dealership’s 75th anniversary celebration, held in the fall of 2001. Instead of simply having a sale on new cars, he organized a vintage car show in his showroom, invited the public to come and take a look, and collected donations for the Children’s Wish Foundation.

Parent calls the Belisle family one of the pioneers of Canada’s automobile sales industry, adding that Belisle is one of the oldest — if not the oldest — privately-owned GM dealers in Canada.

“It must be one of the last ones left that’s privately owned. It’s just sad that after so many years it will be closing down. I wish Paul nothing but the best.”

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